


Sleepless

by Lunar_L



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Back sprain, Confessions, Denial of Feelings, Empaths know what you're feeling, F/M, Implied Sexual Content, Pretending you don't feel like you do doesn't work, Real friends tease you, Sleepy Cuddles, Sometimes you just want to kill the one you love, Time Travel, Utter obliviousness, makeout
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-31
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2017-12-22 00:28:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/906761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunar_L/pseuds/Lunar_L
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raven finds herself approximately 10 years into her future, while her future self is apparently living it up with her friends back in her own time. After several days living with her future partner, Raven finds the unfamiliarity unbearable and has a late night talk with him that will leave her questioning how she truly feels about his younger self.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Unexpected Future

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is my first Teen Titans story. Not a fan of the new 52 comics so went back to the show again and have once again started obsessing over it lol.
> 
> Does anyone else read the new 52 Titans? I'm so not impressed that they retconned away the original Titans history together. I mean the titans they have just now were supposed to come after the ones we know and love and yet they've made them the new originals? Tim (The 3rd Robin) now as Red Robin is the original leader of the Teen Titans he just banded together all of a sudden, instead of Dick as the original Robin. Do not like. And I read Ravagers as well and they made Beast Boy reddish-brown. WUT.
> 
> Anyway, this is a little more mature than I usually write but everything is pure suggestion and reference, nothing more. I had this little idea that developed more and more in my head, begging me to write it until I did. And then the more I fussed over it, the more it evolved until we have - this!

The room was in complete darkness apart from the silvery light she had taken comfort in, but as she turned certain shapes were still recognisable to her. The worrying thing was how many of the shapes weren't. So many belongings here seemed completely foreign in this familiar landscape of hers.

She could faintly make out some kind of model collection atop her bookcase and peered closer at it without moving from her spot by the window. It looked like some kind of sci-fi paraphernalia from one of those shows he was always excitedly yapping about at dinner time. She noticed the stack of comic books on the bedside table, and of course, there was the bed itself. Gone was the large overhanging Raven headboard, instead replaced by what seemed to be a piece of solid oak.

She had no idea why she had even come in here. Technically, this wasn't her room. It was _hers_...and his too. Technically, this wasn't even the tower, just a recreation of the room she knew so well, in a house she did not. She glanced back at the moon, willing it's familiarity to ease her discomfort at what she had learned about herself lately and what she had learned she would be like one day.

If only she hadn't been so stupid as to let herself get pulled through that damn portal. But when she had approached she had seen herself, her older self, and who wouldn't be drawn to that? It was so utterly confusing and yet amazing. There she was, taller, waist-length hair and wearing a long dress instead of her leotard. And there was just an heir of...difference about her. She didn't seem like Raven even on the base levels of consciousness. If nothing else, she had been giving off a strong surge of emotion and that had been worrying. Or at least it would have been had Raven allowed herself to feel worried.

Once she had first been pulled in, she had assumed the other her had been some kind of mirage or illusion designed to get her attention - to trap her - but when she had turned around to see the portal closing, she had seen the look of utter surprise on the woman's face – a face now on the other side - and she just knew this had been some kind of accident for her as well. Raven had felt a prick of panic but wasn't entirely sure if it was her own or had come from the other Raven.  
She knew now that the technology Red X had been stealing was used for some kind of temporal manipulation and the fight had somehow set it off. Or at least, she had been told that was what had happened and she believed him. At least, on that matter she had. Other things he had then told her had been...a little harder to buy. At least, until he'd shown her the proof.

There was a snort from the bed and a cough. A look of pure fear passed her features for a moment before she managed to get herself under control again. The worst thing that could have happened was for him to be woken up by a lapse in her control. She forced her widened eyes to return to normal again and only then did she remember what he'd told her. The room was somehow "proofed" against her powers so that she could sleep in peace. Experimentally, she had tried to pick up the bedside lamp but found she could only make it wobble slightly. In here, in her own sanctuary, she was allowed to feel.

Except it wasn't her sanctuary, was it? That had been the exact reason she had told him she didn't want to sleep in here. She had taken the guest room down the hall and been hugely surprised at how different it felt to the tower, considering that the bedroom, this bedroom, was a complete double to her old room.

She heard a tell-tale creak from the bed and sighed. He was definitely awake now. Damn, she really hadn't wanted him to find her in here.

"Raven?" he called, "What are you doing here? Can't sleep?"

"No." It was the only reply she offered.

"Was the bed still not comfortable enough? Like I said before, I think she keeps a spare mattress in the laundry room if you want me to switch it out for you?"

"The bed's fine, thank you," she said.

The bed creaked some more as he got up on the opposite side from the window and started moving across the room towards her. She kept her eyes trained on the moon and betrayed nothing.

"Are you okay?"

"...No."

"Um, okay. Care to elaborate?"

She smirked. "How do you even know what that means?" she asked, "It doesn't sound like something you would say. Or pronounce correctly."

She could practically feel him smirking back by reading his emotions. Clearly he was still used to her scything insults these days. In fact, he now seemed to be taking them as some sign of affection. Which was not her intention at all.

"Come on. Talk to me. I'm the only one here. And believe it or not, I get that this feels weird for you."

"Weird doesn't begin to describe how I _feel_ ," she seethed, her voice choking ever so slightly. As well as the fear she'd been forcing down the whole time she had been here, she was vaguely angry at him now and not quite sure why. This wasn't his fault. Yet she wanted it to be so that she could yell at him free of guilt.

"In the last week or so I've learned that I'm going to be able to have a normal life, or at least more normal than I ever thought possible. Do you know what it's like to learn that after resigning yourself to the fact that you never will? To learn that as long as I'm careful, I can feel? After conditioning myself not to for 16 years? How do I even break that conditioning?

"And to make matters worse, I don't even have the familiarity of my home or friends to make me feel more comfortable. Here I am in a different city, a different house and to add insult to injury, I'm married to _you_ of all people!"

Tears suddenly pricked her eyes. That hadn't been fair. Yes, she had meant it, but not quite as nastily as it had come out. Now the only person who'd been around to help her adjust was going to hate her. She could feel the hurt radiating off of him in waves and her own guilt just got worse as a result.

"I'm sorry. That was harsh and totally unca-"

"It's okay."

That was unexpected. She could feel how hurt he was, so why wasn't he at least letting her apologise? She was so confused, and what was worse, this room was affecting her. She was more aware of her emotions since she didn't have her powers pushing at her to escape and she was getting more and more emotional with the situation. The first tear fell. So much for her conditioning being hard to break. She couldn't remember the last time she had cried. Trigon probably. It wasn't something she was really able to release like everyone else.

"Don't cry Rae, please," he crept forward and put his hand on her shoulder. She flinched slightly at first, unused to the contact. "I understand. You can barely stand me in your time. This has gotta be a huge shock."

She sniffled. "It's just so different. I always assumed I'd be a Titan forever. I never really thought ahead to us disbanding."

"We had to do it sometime. There are a whole bunch of new kids now and they needed a lot of room."

"I know. I remember you saying." She rubbed at her eyes with the balls of her palms, just distracted enough to miss the mischievous feeling he was emitting. In one quick move, he'd dragged her hood down and stepped up right behind her, perfectly placed to prevent her from pulling it up again if she tried. She could feel his body heat through her cloak at such close range and she blushed despite her attempts not to.

"So, you curious?"

"About what?" she said, completely puzzled as to what he meant.

"About us. About how we started?"

The blush intensified. It was something she was curious about, but thus far she'd stopped her mind from wandering down that road. It was too out-of-character for her to even consider the circumstances. The playful feeling he was giving off finally reached her and she felt a bit of annoyance. He was deliberately trying to make her feel awkward for a quick laugh.

"Why? Ready to laugh at me?"

"Not at all. But I have to admit, your squeamishness on the subject is bound to be funny anyway."

"Fine," she sulked, "Are you going to tell me or hold back because it's humorous to watch me squirm?"

He laughed and it was so reminiscent of his laugh in her time that it calmed her down immediately. It was just as well because what he did next made her physically jump. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her middle, under her arms hanging at her sides. Raven was pretty certain she'd never felt more awkward in all her life.

"Okay, okay," he said, ignoring her involuntary freak-out and instead resting his head on her shoulder. "It's kinda obvious when you think about it. You've done this once before. You being here, and knowing what you know, totally changes the way you look at me when you go back."

She gasped audibly. He was right. She was never going to be able to think about him the same way again. Not after she knew she was supposed to marry him. She knew she'd be getting home soon; she'd been looking forward to it in fact. Her future self had done it once before after all and he'd promised that back in her own time they were all working hard with her other self to get her home. It was going to work because it already had. He remembered the whole thing and she had spoken to him about it afterwards. She guessed, probably quite a long time afterwards, as there was no way she planned on telling him what had happened here. But she'd never really thought about what she was going to do with the information she'd gathered until now.

"He already likes you, you know."

"I'm an empath. It'd be hard not to notice." Back to her monotone, desperately trying to cling to a reality where her life wasn't mapped out for her.

He laughed again, an entirely too high pitched sound for someone who had matured as he had. She couldn't help it, she sniggered and the monotone was gone again.

"I know," he said, "She's telling him that as we speak."

She gulped. Well, that would help add to the awkwardness once she got home. As if it wasn't bad enough that she would feel strange around him, he also wouldn't have a clue how to act around her. Knowing she knew about his crush was going to freak him out. And sooner or later he'd spill the beans to one of the others. Then the teasing would start...

"I've always wondered," he said, breaking her out of her thoughts, "when did you realise I liked you?"

Her forehead wrinkled trying to remember. "I'm not quite sure," she answered truthfully, "When did you know you liked me? It's not something that's easy to pin-point, you know."

He tightened his grip around her waist with one arm and she gasped as she felt him pull her hair back from her neck with the other, running a finger along the pale skin. Her eyes widened as he started to speak.

"It was definitely early on," he whispered almost seductively into her ear, "You're too interesting to not be noticed."

Raven gulped as she felt him place a kiss against the tender skin on her neck, just behind her ear. Her breathing was laboured, she was panicked and yet she couldn't find the motivation to physically stop him.

"Changeling?" she squeaked, using the hero name he had told her he went by these days. She did not feel comfortable or confident enough to call him Gar like he had told her to do. He shushed her and began placing more kisses against her skin, his arms holding her tightly in place and yet tenderly.

"Um, Ch-Changeling? I don't think your wife would be very happy about-"

"Shh, Rae. You are my wife, remember?"

She fidgeted as he continued his ministrations and plucked up the courage to talk again.

"But you're not my husband, and I'm not sure this is...right."

"Raven, can't you understand I'm trying to tell you I love you?"

Her stomach dropped away. He _loved_ her. Well, obviously he loved her, he had married her - would marry her. But still, hearing him say it like that...

She wasn't sure she could remember how to breathe. Her heart was beating wildly and her head was moving a hundred miles a minute and yet giving her nothing to work with. What did she say? How was one supposed to react to something like that? She was certain that if the room hadn't been shielded he would have been thrown across it by now; she was in that much emotional turmoil.

"I...I.."

"I know you like me. It wasn't that hard to spot. I just thought I'd...find out for sure."

She _liked_ him? Really? Certainly not before this incident. She would have noticed something was up. It must have been him, not his past self. It must have something to do with how much more mature he looked now. He was still slim but with a more noticeable build and a good head taller than her. He had been so understanding about the whole thing and hadn't bothered her relentlessly like she had expected. She was uncomfortable with the situation and perfectly capable of pushing him off and yet, here she was letting him kiss her.

Oh Azar, she did like him. It would be ridiculous to think she could have fallen in love with him in only ten days but she definitely felt something for him. Something more than friendship. Oh Azar, this was unexpected.

She was still so very confused but all of sudden felt completely relaxed. The understanding that he was right had given her some kind of release and she no longer felt panicked by what was happening. Not that she felt it was entirely right either.

"Gar," she said, finally using his name as he had asked her to when she first arrived, "I'm still not _your_ Raven. She's stuck back in my time. I don't think she'd be happy about this."

He sniggered into her neck and it hit her as odd. Shouldn't he be more concerned about a jealous wife on her return? Wasn't this still technically cheating? He continued to snigger, oblivious to her thoughts before leaning directly into her ear.

"This already happened once before. She told me about it. It happened back when she was you. She knows and she doesn't mind."

Raven's guilt was lifted immediately. Of course she knew. She may have been taken off-guard when they switched places, but she'd have realised by now what was happening. That it was happening again. She knew. She'd told him. She's practically given permission.

His hands had let go of her arms and while one was resting on her hip, the other had slipped up to remove her cloak. Free of it, he began to kiss her shoulder through her leotard. She had another flash of fear but this time for a different reason. She'd never been in a real relationship before. Her only experience definitely did not count and besides, she'd never even kissed Malchior. It hadn't been possible, given his paper state. She was scared but she wanted to know. She wanted to kiss him. Now she just had to get over the fear and be confident enough to do something about it.

With great effort she turned her head to face him. Blind panic was filling her up again but she knew she needed to do this. He saw her turn to him and seeing the nervousness in her eyes, took the initiative. Placing a hand on her shoulder, he gently guided her into turning her whole body towards him and tenderly ran his thumb across her cheek. His smile was comforting and she didn't feel quite as scared as she had.

"I don't know what you know about me as I am just now, but I've never..." She couldn't bring herself to admit to something she found so embarrassing .

"I know," he said, "You've never kissed anyone before. It's not unusual at your age, not to mention your powers give you more difficulty with stuff like that."

"Great," she smirked, rolling her eyes at him, "Remind me how much older than me you are, why don't you?"

"Hey! I'm not even a full ten years older. Stop making me feel old."

"Then stop making me feel like a kid. I'm used to being older than you."

"Sorry."

And with that he kissed her. It was sudden but practised, confident. It was heaven.

"Wow," she said when they finally broke apart, "That was...amazing."

"Thanks," he said, waggling his eyebrows at her in a way reminiscent of his younger self, earning him a scowl from her, "You're a good kisser too."

"I am?"

"Don't sound so surprised. I married you for a reason. Well, two. You're good at something else too." And with that he winked at her, causing her to blush scarlet at him and eliciting a laugh.

"Relax, I'm teasing," he said before scooping her up and over to the bed, causing her to shriek as he dropped her. And with that he kissed her again.

* * *

 

Sunlight streamed through the open curtains directly over the bed where she lay. She groaned and rolled over to avoid its glare before realising she had turned over in someone's embrace. She half opened her eyes to see a green chest directly in front of her line of sight and glancing up a happily sleeping Changeling. And from the feel of him pressed up close to her, a very naked one.

She smiled, her memories already returning. Last night she had received her first kiss. She had never in a million years thought she would go further on the same night. But such was her passion. She'd been absent of affection for so long and had been expecting the lack of it to continue, and so she had found herself unable to resist. Of course she had still been extremely nervous and had to rely on Gar taking many hints from her body language to deduce what she wanted. She suspected he had already known what was coming via her future self though, and had been carefully waiting for her to initiate something.

She throbbed a little and fidgeted to try to relieve it somewhat, waking her lover in the process. That word, lover, made her feel giddy and she was acutely aware she didn't normally act or feel like this.

He kissed her on the forehead and snuggled her back under his chin before speaking, "Hi."

"Morning," she answered back.

"Time is it?" he asked her, yawning loudly.

"No idea but it feels far too early."

"That's because we spent most of the night awake," he smirked at her, making her blush, "I take it you enjoyed yourself?"

"Yes," she answered burying her head in his chest to avoid any more embarrassment. As good as she felt, she was still very prone to blushing about the whole thing.

"More?" he asked, grinning and pulling back from her so he could catch her reaction which, as he thought, was her face painting itself a new shade of red.

"I'm sore," she told him truthfully and was secretly thrilled at the concern that was written all over his face the second the words had been uttered. He really did love her and it was heart-warming to know it.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Later?" she asked, shyly avoiding eye contact. Though she brought her eyes to his immediately after as she felt a strange sadness coming from him.

"Would depend on how much later that is, Rae," he said, "You go home this afternoon, and I'm pretty sure we've slept late already."

He kissed her forehead and played with a strand of her hair, twirling it between his fingers.

"Don't worry about it or anything. You'll have plenty chances in your future."

She watched his face as he spoke, giving her a gentle smile as he relayed the words that both excited and frightened her. Her future. This was her future. With him. This house, this room, this bed. Typical that she'd fought getting to know Gar for the entire time she'd been here, and now that she had and decided she wanted this it was all about to end. Now she had to go back to her present, and instead of being worshipped by Gar, she was going to be bugged relentlessly by Beast Boy. Whom she both liked and didn't like.

Why did the two of them have to be so different from each other? And yet they weren't completely different. They both liked the same things. Hobbies, foods...her. Oh Azar, she was going to start liking Beast Boy, wasn't she? Was that the reason he grew up so much? Because he got what he wanted and no longer had to beg for her attention?

Well , if she had to go back to an awkward present where she couldn't discuss events here with anyone and had to give up what she had just found, at least for a little while, she was going to get her money's worth.

She roughly grabbed the back of his head and kissed him passionately...

* * *

 

She stood in front of the portal, directly facing her older self who was surrounded by her friends. She turned to look at Gar, strategically standing off to her left where the others wouldn't be able to see him and later ask questions. She turned back to her friends, gave them the signal to wait for just a moment and dashed over to him for one last kiss goodbye.

"Wow," he said sarcastically, "How will you ever survive without being able to do that whenever you want?"

She smiled and shoved him hard and ran back to her previous position. Her counterpart signalled with her hand - one, two, three - and they both stepped forward, switching places. She saw her other self again, but instead of the backdrop of the inside of the tower, she was now the one standing in the back yard in Los Angeles.

She barely had time to wave goodbye before the portal faded out of existence and she was mobbed by an over-excited Starfire.

"Raven! It is most glorious that you have returned! We were afraid that you would not be able to, but older Raven assured us you were safe and would be home soon."

"I'm fine Starfire. Thanks. Now...air?"

The Tameranian hastily released her before squealing something about a feast and heading for the kitchen. She turned to look as the boys – minus Beastboy – approached her.

"Raven, glad your back."

Robin, straight to the point, as ever. She nodded in return. Cyborg however, gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

"Good to see you home again. The place was a bit weird without you. Though mostly because we had a Raven that smiles and laughs instead," he joked.

"Thank you," she told him as she rolled her eyes, "It was weird not being here. Everything was so unfamiliar."

"Yeah about that," he said, an excited look appearing on his face, "She said you wouldn't tell us, but come on! You went to the future! Tell us, what was it like?"

Raven glanced back at his eager face. She had been expecting this and knew just how to respond. Keeping her face as blank as possible, she answered in her usual monotone.

"Different."

She watched as he practically deflated on the spot before grumbling under his breath and slumping off, Robin attempting to explain to him the dangers of curiosity and knowing too much about ones own future. As she did her eyes passed over the anxious green form slumped against the back wall.

He was doing his best not to look over but she saw he couldn't resist glancing up every so often. Once he had noticed she was looking back, and not just staring into space, his neck snapped in another direction and his emotions gave off even more nervousness. She would have thought it impossible if she hadn't felt it herself.

She took a deep breath, mentally recited her mantra and walked over to him. It only took about 5 steps, but she felt like she was walking through liquid concrete. Her legs wobbled and her emotions threatened to give her powers an outlet, but she held onto her outer façade of strength. She leant against the wall next to him.

"No 'Glad you're back' Beastboy? That doesn't seem like you."

He glanced at her with his peripheral vision before becoming fascinated by his shoes, clearly afraid to look her in the eye, "I thought you might appreciate being left alone for a change."

"That _would_ be a change," she smirked, "How were things while I was gone?"

"Okay I guess," he said, visibly relaxing, "That older you though, heh, the things she did just to get a rise out of people. She said some pretty crazy things, heh heh."

His nervous laughter told her he was desperate to have her disprove what he was afraid of. Maybe this could be more fun than awkward.

"I know," she said, an evil smirk finding it's way to her face, "I got a retelling of a certain conversation from an older version of the horse's mouth."

His face paled so considerably that he might not have been green at all, "What? So you know – Wait!...You met me in the future?" His eyes had gone from wide and scared to suddenly interested. She opened her mouth to speak when someone interrupted her.

"HEY! Why does he gets to know stuff and we don't?" shouted Cyborg before being pulled back by Robin and descending into some kind of argument between the two of them about the morality of telling someone about a time travel incident.

"Yes," she admitted, her attention once again resting on the young changeling, "Briefly. And he told me a lot about this week and things that were said to him."

She couldn't get the damn smirk off her face. She was making it clear that she knew. He had a crush on her, she knew about it. And now he knew she knew about it. Or something. Her head hurt.

He was clearing his throat to buy time to make up some excuse. He rubbed the back of his neck before bursting out in that high pitched laugh of his that bothered her. She frowned at herself. _Used_ to bother her. Gar still laughed exactly the same way.

"Um...I gotta go take a nap. Tired. Didn't get any sleep last night what-so-ever and-"

**CRASH!**

"Whoa! Rae? What just happened?"

Raven pulled her hood up in a desperate attempt to hide the blush beginning to stain her face. A tendril of black energy had just thrown the sofa across the common room, leaving a wake of destruction behind it. Everyone was staring. Not good.

She stormed out of the room quickly before anyone else could question what had made her lose control. Before they could work out what sentence had affected her so badly.

Great. This was going to be just as awkward as she'd imagined after all.


	2. Catnap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven has been back home for a week now and finds herself with literal pain in her back and an extremely annoying metaphorical pain in her side...

The corner piece of the couch was the perfect place to sit back against with her back aching the way it was. Raven knew it had more lower back support than any other part of the couch and she was desperate to ease some of her discomfort.

Since it had only been a week since she'd returned to her own time, her friends had felt exceptionally overprotective of her, and when Mumbo had chosen to attack her specifically, they'd all tried to jump to her rescue. Raven was perfectly capable of taking care of herself of course and before they even reached her she had sent him flying through the air, using a nearby car as a weapon.

Starfire had been so pleased to find her safe, that she had given her one of her signature hugs, although perhaps one a little stronger than she had meant. And now Raven's back and shoulders ached horribly.

As she was clearly in pain, Robin had told her to go back to the tower and heal herself whilst they dealt with the police. She didn't think he realised this was too small an injury for her healing powers to take care of for her. They wouldn't kick in automatically, and manually healing it would be pointless, given that whenever Raven healed someone, she had to absorb some and usually most of their pain. It could hang around for days after, sometimes for even longer than if she'd left it to heal as normal. So yes, she could heal the actual injury – the muscle strain – but she would still hurt, so what was the point? She'd rather let it heal naturally and have the pain go away altogether.

She wriggled about in her seat, trying to adjust her arms so that her shoulders didn't hurt so badly. Just as she thought she'd found the perfect position, her communicator beeped.

She swore under her breath, a bad habit she seemed to have picked up from Gar, and retrieved it from her belt. It was excruciating on her shoulders. Opening it, she saw Robin's face looking at her with concern.

"Robin."

"Hi Raven. Are you okay now?" he asked.

"No. I need to rest, and I was doing just that until someone disturbed me," she grumbled.

"Sorry. We're having some problems getting Mumbo booked so we're going to be a little longer. I didn't realise you'd have to rest this off. I'm going to send one of the others back to keep an eye on you – just in case."

"I can take care of myself you know."

"I know Raven, but if you're hurt and we're not there...I don't want to take any chances."

"Fine," she seethed, her eruption point nearing. If she didn't concede, he would push the issue further and she'd end up spouting verbal lava at him sooner rather than later.

Starfire suddenly appeared on the small screen and Raven found herself becoming dormant again at the concerned look on her face.

"Raven! You are better now please?"

"I'm fine Starfire, just a bit sore. I need to rest and I'll be good as new."

"Very well. Please get well quickly now."

The image disappeared as Robin ended the call.

She flung her communicator down onto the couch next to her. No way was she going to mess around trying to get it back into it's pouch when she was in pain like this. It was more trouble than it was worth. She readjusted herself back to the position she'd just found before her irritating phone call. She once again sat so she was resting her elbow on the back of the couch, her arm leaning out towards the TV but down slightly as gravity pulled it. Her fingers dangled, dipping relatively close to the seat of the couch.

That was so much better. Her back still ached, but it was more of a dull pain now. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, savouring the warm sunshine on her face. It was warm enough to soothe her and helped her slip into as relaxed a mental state as she was capable of right now. She didn't know how long she lay like that, enjoying the relative comfort of the position she was sitting in. The sun remained strong on her face and she began to doze. Her mind swum with recollections of the previous week and she gave an small, uncharacteristic smile as she slipped into slumber.

* * *

 

Her face scrunched up as she started to come to. Something had woken her, but what? She opened her senses and couldn't hear anyone, but there was definitely someone there, she could sense them. She finally opened her eyes and looked around. No one. Strange. She felt out with her empathic abilities but the feelings she received were muted and different to anything she was used to sensing. After a short amount of deliberation, she decided she might just be imagining it, tired and sore as she was.

She was just laying her head back when she felt something touch her hand. She quickly looked down to see a tiny green kitten laying on it's back next to her, swatting at her dangling fingertips, as if she were a piece of string there for nothing but it's own amusement.

He hadn't noticed she was awake yet and continued to gently claw at her hand, jumping up and biting at it although she could barely feel it, he was being so careful. She watched, unable to help smiling a little at the unlikeness of the moment. It was...cute. Oh Azar, she was using words she would normally shudder at. But he was a kitten for goodness sake! A tiny and extremely playful kitten.

Just as he jumped up to grab her finger again, she released a tiny amount of dark energy through her fingertips. The resulting minor shock he got was enough for him to cease his game and look directly at her, still laying on his back and upside down in relation to her in kitten form.

She had wiped the smile from her face and was now scowling at him, obviously trying to frighten him and show her displeasure. If he so much as got a hint that she had thought it was fun or adorable...

The kitten rolled over onto it's front and leapt onto the back of the couch, sitting and watching her, head tilted to the left and eyes wide. Damn him, he was deliberately trying to be cute to avoid the Raven-glare, and possible bodily harm. She intensified her scowl to show it wasn't working, as incorrect as that assumption would be.

"I guess Robin sent you back to keep an eye on me?"

The kitten meowed before standing up again. It gingerly made it's way along the back of the couch until it reached the resident empath and attempted to clamber onto her shoulder.

It was only an attempt because the second he tried it, Raven picked him up by the scruff of his neck and flung him unceremoniously onto the other end of the couch.

The shock of the landing reverted him back to his human form, an obvious groan resounding from his throat. He rubbed his spine, now the proud owner of his own back injury and gave his best impression of the Raven-glare as he looked at her.

"What was that for?" he complained.

"You tried to climb onto me," she dead-panned, "What did you expect to happen?"

"I dunno. That you wouldn't be heartless enough to throw a helpless kitty across the room?"

"It was you masquerading as a cat. Not a cat."

"Well maybe I hoped you'd forget that for just a moment."

Raven looked at him, sulking on the opposite corner of the couch. He was trying very hard to pretend he was annoyed with her, but all she could feel from him was hurt and disappointment. He'd wanted very much for her to go along with his kitten scheme, whatever it had been. Delving a little deeper she found a sliver of embarrassment, and when she looked, she realised he clearly had a handful of broken capillaries across his cheeks.

Curious now, she knew she had to prod at the issue.

"Why did you try to climb onto me?"

His face changed into a look of barely concealed panic and he stuttered incoherently and refused to make eye contact. He didn't make any real attempt to answer her though.

She smirked. It was time for her new hobby. Over the last three days she had become increasingly more comfortable with harmlessly poking fun at his attraction to her. She now better understood why the boys all made fun of each other so much. There was a real element of enjoyment to be made from the other persons slight discomfort. She had always thought it cruel but lately she'd found that as long as she kept things light-hearted, she didn't feel guilty about it. She imagined this might be easier for him to deal with than being put down in her usual manner. Not to mention it seemed to work better at getting him to stop bugging her.

And so she leaned back again and stared at the ceiling, putting him in a false sense of security, before tilting her head to look directly at him again.

"I can probably guess why you tried it," she told him a small almost-snigger escaping at the end of her sentence.

"Umm, yeah?" he enquired nervously.

"Mm hmm. Probably just some stupid excuse to try and get closer to me."

She saw him begin to fidget more obviously now that her words were out in the open. His ears had flattened slightly against his head, a sure sign she'd made him uncomfortable. He tucked his knees close to his chest in a defensive gesture and looked anywhere but at her face. As she had started to notice over the past few days, he stayed totally silent, unsure of how to respond.

"I'm going to take that as an affirmative." she smirked before resting her head back against the couch, confident that would be the end of his annoyances.

"You know the worst thing you can do for back pain is to rest, right?"

"What?" Her head was up again and watching him as he spoke. His face was still stained from his earlier blush but he looked determined to explain himself.

"You heard me. It makes your muscles atrophy slightly and that makes it worse. You have to do gentle exercise, like getting on with everyday stuff around the tower."

She was taken aback at his gall. He was supposed to be embarrassed into silence by now. That was how it worked. But it looked like he was learning. A quick subject change and he seemed to think things were going to go back to normal. She was going to have to find some way to hold onto her new advantage, and quickly.

"You want me to struggle to move through this pain, because it's supposed to help? I don't buy it, I think you're just trying to change the topic away from yourself."

 _Mistake!_ He was annoyed for real this time. He didn't like her accusation one little bit and she didn't need to pick it up emphatically to know that. His jaw was set and his eyes were narrowed. Azar, was he pissed at her.

"Stop trying to make everything into your new little game to bug me! I'm telling you the truth. You'll make your back worse unless you get up and move around. So MOVE IT!"

Wow. He wasn't himself. He usually shrunk back from her, whether it was her patented death glare or her scything remarks. He didn't stand up for himself as a rule. He may have pushed and prodded but when she had the upper hand, he usually slunk away. He clearly wasn't going to take no for an answer, and it wasn't in the usual way that had Raven groaning to be left alone. He was a little frightening in a way very reminiscent of her. Assertiveness looked good on him.

She just stared at him in shock at what he'd said, watching as he stood up and walked over to her, still set in his determination to have the upper hand. She watched as he stretched his hand out to help her up. She just looked at it before raising an eyebrow at him, defiantly refusing to take it.

"Don't make me move you," he growled at her, his voice an angry guttural sound.

Out of further shock, she took his hand, her muscles groaning their protest at the movement and even more so as he pulled on her arm tightly to make her stand. She hissed at the pain and her face tightened in response. She expected some of his sympathies, maybe a sorry at least but he was surprisingly unfazed by her discomfort.

"Oh get over it Rae. It can only get better from her – as long as you _keep moving_."

"It's Raven. And what exactly am I meant to do to keep moving?" she asked him.

"How about we do some light training?"

She gave him the dirtiest look she could muster to show what she thought of that idea. Training? In her state? She didn't care how light it was, she didn't like training under normal circumstances, never mind in agony. Even the walk to the training room would kill her, metaphorically of course.

"Okay, that's a no. Something simple then. Let's go into the kitchen and you can make yourself some tea or something. Maybe I'll even teach you to cook, or at least try to."

He laughed at his own cruel joke. She had to admit, she was such an awful cook, couldn't defend against that statement. It would be an outright lie and he'd know it. She had to give one of her rare 'smiles' to the humour of the comment and her mouth turned up ever so slightly at the corners, barely noticeable but still clearly spotted by the boy in front of her.

"Come on," he encouraged, dropping her hand and putting it on her shoulder instead as a way to get her to start moving forward.

Her smile was gone instantly as the pain started to rip through her during her walk. It was over so quickly, she might as well as not moved at all, but it felt like an eternity as every step sent a wave of fresh pain up her spine and into her shoulder blades.

She reached the counter and leant her arms against it, catching her breath after the horrible journey. Even standing still was putting pressure on her spine that was almost more than she could stand. An irrational part of her wished he'd hold her up so he could take her weight instead of her own feet, but she immediately dismissed that idea and inwardly narrowed her eyes at herself.

"You'll be fine Rae, just keep moving. Come on, which cabinet do you keep your mug in?"

"Raven. And you know which one."

"Well, duh. But it's not me who needs to keep moving, is it?"

She gave an audible groan as a way of voicing her hatred of the situation before reaching up to the cupboard she kept her favourite mug in. The distress was evident in her expression as fire ripped through her shoulder blades at the required stretch. She finally acquired the mug and thumped it down on the counter.

"You know Beastboy, I don't even want tea."

"Doesn't matter, you need the exercise."

"Screw this."

She made to levitate back to the couch when she felt his hand grab her shoulder. The ache in her shoulder changed. It was no less unpleasant but because it was different to the pain she had been in so far, it felt more bearable to her. He once again used his new assertive tone of voice.

"Make your tea Raven."

She wanted to tell him to shove off but he had such an authority about him. She was just considering ignoring him anyway when he spoke again.

"Raven. So help me, I will take your arms and move you about like a puppet if you don't do it yourself!"

She instantly found herself turning back to the mug on the counter. As soon as she did, he let go, confident she was back on course again. _What an arrogant bastard._ It was the only thought crossing her mind, besides the pain.

She switched the kettle on and went about fetching her teabag and sugar, suffering the whole time. The water finally boiled and she poured it and watched it brew before finally, _finally_ making her way back to the couch with a freshly made cup of herbal tea.

She dumped the drink on the table and went to sit down again when he once again stopped her.

"Have you taken anything for the pain?"

She groaned in response. No, she hadn't because she had no idea where the everyday medicines were kept. She rarely got into pain she couldn't cope with and anything else was usually dealt with by her healing powers. Going to the infirmary for morphine or something similar had seemed like overkill.

"I don't know where the painkillers are kept."

"They're over here," he explained, heading back towards the kitchen and opening a small folding drawer in the corner. He lifted out a packet of Advil.

She held out her hand but to her distaste he simply shook the packet at her.

"Come and get them," he smirked. He was enjoying this, at least it looked like he was. And right now she hated him for it, evil sadist that he was.

"I hate you," she voiced aloud for him but no reaction come of her words. Slowly she stumbled back to him, a single tear threatening to spill over her eyelid. She fought it back. She was not going to let him see her cry. No matter what occurred, that was NOT going to happen.

She reached up and snatched them from his hand, her shoulder burning at the movement. She quickly made light of the paper and foil packaging and popped two in her mouth, gagging a little as they caught in her throat. Beastboy was now offering her a glass of water and she took it, still staring fiercely at him the whole time.

Once her painkiller quest was done, she made her way back to the couch, stiff, sore and furious. She was exhausted from the exertion. All she wanted to do was prop herself up on the couch and sleep this misery away. She sat down and resumed her previous position, groaning with the part release as some of the fire in her spine was dowsed. Her eyes slid closed of their own accord.

"Don't you want a drink of that?"

Her eyes opened again and she looked up at him, pointing at the cup of tea she had made earlier, and gave her worst Raven-glare ever in response. He could go to hell if he thought she was moving again.

"Rae, you've got to keep moving or you'll be stuck like this for days. Hurt a bit now, be fine tomorrow or stay in agony?" he asked.

"There is _nothing_ you can say or do to make me get up," she said more forcefully than she thought was necessary. She wasn't leaving him anything to misunderstand though and that was how she wanted it. She didn't give a crap what her future was supposed to decide for her, right at that moment she hated him.

He refused to let her relax and was causing her worse pain because of it. And he still couldn't get her name right. She had only allowed one person to call her Rae and that was not him. Not yet and at this rate, not ever!

Her powers were crackling dangerously and she could see some mild panic appear on his face, expecting attack at any moment now. Too late, she sensed a mischievous feeling from him and despite her best efforts, she couldn't avoid the shower of now almost lukewarm tea he flung at her.

She leapt up, having anticipated a possible burn but found she was fine. The tea was too cold by now to actually hurt her. She was drenched, however, and she was absolutely furious with him.

"I. Am. Going. To. **KILL**. You."

"Eeep!"

He dashed out the common room doors, making for the relative safety of his room, desperate to put as much distance between them as he could and considering the pain he'd let himself in for. It would be worth it though - if this worked.

Raven went after him, moving at a speed that could put Kid Flash to shame. She was in full melt down and was going to sort this once and for all. She'd make sure he knew that if he so much as sneezed within her earshot in the future she'd end his miserable existence. She was not going to tolerate any more of his crap.

Her arm bashed against a panel sticking out of the wall slightly as she passed. He was using the maintenance corridors instead of the regular ones and it was getting harder and harder to fly after him in such a confined space. The ceiling for getting lower and lower and she bumped her head slightly trying to avoid another panel on the wall.

She touched down and started to run, a scowl covering her face and all memory of the pain she was in erased by her current burst of adrenaline.

* * *

 

The doors to the common room slid open and in trudged three mentally exhausted Titans. The city had wanted to try a new method of prosecution for super-villains and had been keen to discuss their plans with the young heroes considering their capture of Mumbo could be the first case to be tried that way.

It had been mostly legal nonsense and none of them quite understood the procedures one hundred percent.

Cyborg was irate that Beastboy had managed to sneak away to make sure Raven wasn't struggling. In hindsight he should've insisted he go, given that he was the team medic, but it hadn't occurred to him just how much he's want out of that stupid lecture on legal proceedings. None of them had known what they were getting themselves into.

He stomped over to the couch, determined to flop down in front of some menial video-game that could take his mind off of the jargon rolling around in his head, without taxing him too much. Beastboy would probably join in once he realised they were back and he could always take pleasure from beating BB at every game they played.

He reached the couch but instead of taking a seat, he stopped in shock. His face turned upwards in a sly smile and he beckoned the other two over silently. He did not want to chance disturbing the scene before him.

As Robin and Starfire joined him, he immediately put a hand over the alien girl's mouth, signalling to her not to give off one of her high-pitched squeals. She nodded in understanding, although she couldn't wipe the smile from her face. Robin looked amused but more shocked than anything. His eyes had widened behind his mask as he looked before him.

There in front of the three of them was Raven. She was fast asleep, the chase and the resulting pain catching up to her eventually and knocking her unconscious almost instantly. She had been gently placed on the couch by Beastboy, although none of them could have known that.

What was of interest was that Raven was lying on her side, and curled up next to her, pressed against her chest was a tiny green kitten, also worn out from evading the sorceress for so long. He was purring in his sleep and nuzzling against her, a tiny kitten smile upon his face, as in her sleep, Raven gently stroked his fur.

Cyborg laughed to himself quietly, whilst searching for a camera. His was going to be so much fun when they woke up.


	3. Close Quarters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven and Beastboy get trapped in a very small space which has the unfortunate (fortunate?) effect of bringing everything to a head and getting it out into the open

****Why did it have to be so damn cramped?

 

As Raven attempted to move to stop the pins and needles in her leg, she inadvertently pressed her back up against his. She wanted to snap at him, tell him to move, something! But doing so would alert those _things_ to their presence.

 

There was a noise from outside the tiny shipping container they were hiding in and she felt a spike of Beastboy's fear reverberate through her.

 

Oh Azar why didn't he just transform into something smaller? She supposed he'd been too frightened during the sudden escape to think of that and she could hardly tell him when she was forced into silence by the creatures on the other side of the thin crate wall. And contrary to popular belief, she couldn't speak to someone telepathically. She could open up a mind bond between them, but that would involve levitating and chanting her mantra, neither of which was possible in such close quarters.

 

The reason for the position they found themselves in was a bit of a mystery so far. The city had been attacked by these demon-like creatures. Raven knew they weren't true demons as she could sense the difference, but they certainly looked like something demon-esque. And boy were they formidable. So far her best guess was some kind of physical illusion, like the ones Control Freak created, but this didn't seem to fit his MO.

 

There were about a hundred of the strange creatures, all looking like a cross between a griffin and...something else, as each had four legs and two arms. They had moved too quickly and during the fight Raven and Beastboy had become separated from the others. Their combined power had taken out a dozen or so but they were quickly becoming fatigued and Raven had known they wouldn't last much longer without a chance to take a breath and strategise. So in an act of retreat she had used her obsidian energy to transport them to the closest place she could manage – the warehouse on the same street.

 

As soon as they had landed they had heard the creatures break in and so Beastboy had quickly helped her to the nearby crates where they climbed inside an empty one and pulled the lid into place just in time.

 

And so here they were. Cramped in a box which they couldn't escape from until they were sure those things had given up looking in here. It was getting stuffy and Raven was having to force her breathing to stay quiet as she gulped for fresh air.

She felt Beastboy move his head behind her, trying to look in her direction. His hair tickled her neck and she inwardly groaned at the unfairness of it all.

 

The most frightening thing for her was that she wasn't annoyed at being this close to him, but rather that she was torturously elated. This felt far too intimate and she was uncomfortable and yet excited by that. She was terrified because she didn't want her powers to cause anything to explode which would give away their location.

 

Her feelings for him were growing all the time, something which she was no longer denying to herself, despite her reluctance to accept it. She no longer snapped at him when he was simply trying to get some attention from her and he had even been known to elicit a small smile from her every once in a blue moon, especially in his cat form. As a result, he no longer came off as so annoying. He realised he didn't have to push her so hard to get a reaction and had started unconsciously setting himself limits. He was growing up.

Her new treatment of him also meant that his feelings for her had been developing into something more mature than a simple crush. She had started to sense the change in him over the past two months gradually since she was now much more actively curious about it. It was odd but she had come to enjoy the feelings radiating from him whenever he was in her company. It made her feel flattered and happy in that special Raven-brand way. It hadn't stopped her from teasing him about it every so often though.

 

She was starting to struggle in the crate now. Her growing nervousness at their proximity was so bad she was no longer sensing anything from him. Her own emotions were completely blocking her empathic abilities. His hair continued to tickle her neck as he moved, something both pleasant and terrifying. She was internally freaking out.

 

 _'Breathe. Breathe. Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos. Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos.'_ she commanded herself mentally.

 

She belatedly realised her distress must have been obvious as Beastboy's hand suddenly grasped her wrist in an attempt at a calming gesture, his thumb rubbing small circled against it. Beads of sweat were forming on her forehead at this development. He thought he was helping and he was only making it worse. His glove was missing, it must have happened during the fight she concluded. It caused a further problem in that she could feel his bare skin against her own.

 

Oh Azar, she couldn't do this. She couldn't cope with the closeness in this stupid container! It was dark and warm, reminiscent of the bedroom 10 years in the future. And his bare hand was on hers. Skin on skin. Too much. Too much reminded her of her experience with Gar, the last thing she wanted to remember under these circumstances.

 

His thumb continued to move over the back of her hand, caressing her and desperately trying to soothe her panic, completely clueless and unaware that he was the cause of it.

 

She could feel her powers pushing at her for release. Her fingers felt the tingling crackle of escaping energy. This was it. They were going to be discovered. All because of the stupid hiding place he'd chosen. She tried scooting forward again, painfully aware there was nowhere to scoot to. He suddenly tried pulling away too, finally understanding her need for some space from him, although not knowing why.

 

As luck would have it, it was her powers which saved them. They did backfire, but instead of breaking something nearby, every warehouse window on one side of the building blew, and all blew inwardly. Raven could hear the clinking sounds of the shards of glass landing as the noise from the initial explosion faded. She could also hear every one of the creatures dash towards the source of said noise, leaving them both relatively safe for now.

 

Beastboy let out a breath he'd clearly been holding and popped the lid a little, peeking out into the now mostly deserted area. As he started to stand up, Raven did so too, turning to look in the opposite direction of the one she had been trapped in. As she did, Beastboy suddenly turned and grabbed her, pulling her back down into the crate. They both gritted their teeth as they heard one of the creatures go past them and stop before turning around and pacing back the same way it had come. Great. A sentry of sorts. At least it was making a wide enough circle around them that they could probably whisper to one another.

 

It was at that moment that they both became aware of their new position. They had turned as they had jumped back into the crate. They were no longer squashed back to back but face to face. They were both kneeling now, a result of their attempts to stand and while that gave them a little space between, it wasn't much.

 

They both blushed and though it was dark they were close enough to register each others scarlet faces. Beastboy squeezed his eyes shut and turned away as much as he could in an attempt to curb his embarrassment. Her empathic abilities back again, Raven could sense his discomfort and.... _lust?_

Extremely mild lust of course, but still... _lust?_

 

Her stomach flipped. Is that what the strange excitement she had been feeling this whole time truly was? Her own mild lust towards him? Surely not. She was developing feelings for him, sure, but this?

She clamped her eyes shut and tried sorting through the emotions clouding her mind. She searched through every emotion she perceived and attempted to separate what she was feeling from what she was only conscious of unintentionally. Yes, there was Beastboy's feelings and specifically his...um, _that_ emotion. And...there was her...her...incredibly identical feeling. She forced herself to open her eyes and look at him.

 

As she searching his face, Raven realised she was lingering on his lips just a little longer than she should be. She dropped her lids again and shook her head lightly to force the thought from her head, for now at least. Things were getting so unnecessarily awkward again.

 

“Oh fuck,” she whispered under her breath.

 

She heard a quiet gasp and opened her eyes to see Beastboy both amused and shocked looking, an interesting combination that she had no time to appreciate.

 

“What?” she asked him in a whisper.

 

“What??” he replied, “What do you mean 'what?' I don't think you've ever sworn before.”

 

“I have. You just weren't there to hear it,” she told him. _'At least not 15 year old you'_ she added mentally, remembering again.

 

“Are you...? What are you smiling about?”

 

“Nothing,” she said, immediately wiping the tender smile from her face, “How long do you think that _thing_ will hang around out there?” she gestured to where they'd heard the creature a few minutes ago. He didn't answer. “Um, Beastboy?”

 

She smirked crookedly. He clearly hadn't taken in a word she'd said. He hadn't been able to take his eyes off of her lips since she'd smiled. And as soon as she'd started smirking his ears had twitched the same way they did when he was intensely fascinated by something, like when he obsessed over a new video game or was anticipating his favourite moment in a movie he'd seen before. As terrible as the timing was, she couldn't resist teasing him just a little.

 

She deliberately licked her top lip before smirking again and saying, “You know, now is a really bad time to get lost in your little fantasy world where, from the look on your face, we're probably kissing right now.”

 

His eyes went as wide as saucers as he snapped out of it. He immediately dropped his gaze so he didn't have to make eye contact but just embarrassed himself further as their proximity meant he was staring right at her chest. He immediately snapped his eyes back to hers, the lesser of two embarrassing evils.

 

Raven's raised an eyebrow at him. Her face betrayed nothing but slight amusement.

 

“Please don't tease me when we're traaaaaapped like this” he whined, “It's unfair. I can't run off if it bothers me.”

 

“Wait, my teasing bothers you?” she asked, concern suddenly etched across her face.

 

“Well...sometimes. I mean, I know-” he said, cutting off as they heard movement near them. He waited until the demon thing moved off again before continuing at a slightly lower volume.

 

“I know it's all just meant in good fun, but it's one thing for the guys or Starfire to tease me about liking you, it's another thing entirely for you to do it.”

 

Raven wasn't liking where this was going. The good natured ribbing she'd been giving him lately about his feelings for her had been partly for amusement, but mostly it had been an attempt to get everything out in the open. The more comfortable they both felt talking about his feelings, the more she thought she might feel safe enough to confess her own. But instead she'd hurt him somehow. She could see it all over his face, and she could feel it from him even more strongly than that.

 

“I...I don't...understand,” she whispered, a little louder than intended.

 

He sighed and sat back as far as he could given his restricted space. As expected he only cleared about a centimetre of distance between their faces.

 

“When you make fun of my...” he gulped obviously, eyes squeezing closed, “...'crush' on you, you're kinda saying it doesn't mean much to you. You know, like you can't take it seriously. You don't care even.”

 

She thought she could tell where he was going with this but that just meant she was becoming more confused.

 

“There's a big difference between me thinking you're never gonna like me back, and you making it outright obvious. It _hurts_.”

 

She didn't understand. Hadn't he and her other self...been intimate? That first morning back, she's lost control of her powers because he'd let it slip that he hadn't gotten any sleep. She's assumed in the same way she hadn't gotten any sleep. How could he think she would never like him?

 

“But didn't my older self tease you about it?” she asked, “You spent a lot of time with her I gather? More than everyone else? So why does it hurt when I tease you, but not when she did it?”

 

“What?” he asked clearly confused himself, “Yeah, I spent time with her, but no more or less than the others did. And she spent an entire night winding me up about it – the night right before you came back. Cyborg needed her chemical signature thingy or something to get you back and he needed someone tall to hold the portal pieces at the right height. I couldn't even defend myself or talk back when she was making fun of me because I was stuck as a giraffe the entire time! The three of us spent the whole entire night working to get you home. The whole night. Man, I was tired and cranky so of course it hurt! And I'll tell ya, being teased in front of Cyborg? Not fun.”

 

 _What?_ Raven couldn't believe her own idiocy. She had interpreted one sentence he'd said, two months ago, completely incorrectly and caused herself a lot of uncomfortable curiosity over what was now turning out to be nothing? Why for Azar's sake had she not thought to casually scout for more information on it? She thought back. Had Cyborg seemed tired? He had run off to regenerate later on that day. Oh Azar. She'd been such an idiot.

She looked closely at him and saw his ears drooping and his pained gaze, pretending to be interested in a piece of imaginary lint on his uniform. Her heart went out to him.

 

“Beastboy, I didn't...I thought-”

 

“It's okay Rae. I get that it feels weird for you and you just reacted the best way you could. You didn't know it upset me.”

 

_I get that this feels weird for you._

 

_Raven, can't you understand I'm trying to tell you I love you?_

 

_You'll have plenty chances in your future._

 

These were her chances. And they were slipping away because of her frankly stupid actions. Teasing him? Really? How was that helping? Clearly it was just making things worse.

 

“Beastboy-”

 

“Just drop it Raven. Listen - I think it's gone.”

 

He cracked open the lid hesitantly and peered outside, confirming there were indeed no more demon creatures around. As soon as he was sure he sent the lid careening to the ground with a thud and climbed out of the container before turning and offering Raven a hand. She could have quite easily gotten out herself but she chose to let him help her. Maybe he'd feel better knowing she had allowed him to aid her instead of pushing him away.

 

As he turned to pull away, he realised he couldn't. Raven still had a tight hold of his bare hand and was clearly refusing to let go.

 

“Um, I'm gonna need that back sooner or later,” he joked, the sadness in his voice barely masked; his laugh held no humour.

 

“Garfield...” she whispered, despite the fact that they could now speak normally again.

 

“Wh-what did you just call me?” he asked, genuinely shocked, as he pulled his head back suddenly from her advancing form.

 

“Garfield. It's your name after all. Would you prefer I called you something else?” she practically purred on the last two words, entirely aware that this was not like her. She was not acting like herself at all, but she knew it was going to be a necessary gesture for his sake. To make him understand.

 

“Like...l-like what?” he stuttered, caught somewhere between daring to believe this was true and wondering if it was some kind of very cruel joke. He attempted to back away from her but her grip was unfaltering.

 

“How about Gar?” she asked, adjusting her gaze so her eyes were half lidded and very slowly and purposely licking her lips.

 

His eyes immediately jumped to watch the motion and he quietly gave a short groan although whether it was from longing or annoyance she wasn't one hundred percent sure.

 

“Rae, if this is some kind of joke...” he started, still unable to tear his gaze away from her lips which were at perfect eye level for him.

 

He never got to finish as suddenly she pulled her hand away from his. She saw him blink in shock at the sudden change in atmosphere. He needn't have wondered for long as Raven grabbed the collar of his uniform and instead of pulling him in for a kiss as it seemed she had been about to do, she pulled him with her as she leaned back against the crate they had just been hiding in. She didn't release him but instead pulled him against her as closely as she could, his hands snapping up to brace himself against the crate on either side of her.

 

“If this was some nasty joke, do you really think I'd take it this far?” she asked him a little angrily.

 

She watched him shake his head frantically, words indicating the negative escaping him at the realisation of being pressed up against her.

 

“Good,” she said, “Now for Azar's sake, kiss me.”

 

He didn't wait for another invite but pushed his mouth against hers roughly.

 

 _'Good, but different,'_ Raven thought.

 

 

He was still shorter than her, although not by much due to the way she was leaning, slouched against the crate behind her. Gar had been much taller than her, but then again this _was_ Gar, and he would be taller than her given time to grow. His kiss was inexperienced but he was learning quickly. He was copying her movements in much the same way she had done when she had first been kissed.

 

There was a much larger difference, however. Gar had kissed her delicately, like he might hurt her if he became too fierce. Even when passionate, he had kissed her like she could break in his arms at any moment.

Beastboy's kiss was fiery. He had clearly wanted to do this for some time and his self control was limited. It was pure lust.

 

Raven found that on this point there was no comparison; she had adored the gentleness of his older self and it had been perfect given the circumstances, but this was better given that she no longer had any awkward doubts about her own feelings.

 

She wrapped her arms around his neck before using the little experience she had over him to her advantage. He reacted elatedly to every nip or move she made and the resulting spike in his emotions sent the real world beyond her reach. She was vaguely aware that he was embracing her now instead of propping himself against the crate as things heated up between them.

 

She had no idea how much time was passing. It didn't feel all that long but she knew from past experience that time could fly in situations such as this.

 

One of her hands tangled in what she could grasp of his hair and she quietly moaned against him as she used her other hand on his shoulder to try desperately to pull him closer, despite the utter lack of space left between them now.

 

 

The rather noisy sound of someone clearing their throat was heard by both of them. Before Raven could throw Beastboy away from her like she planned to, he had already sprung away with a shocked squeal, panting heavily, his hair standing up at odd angles where she had tousled it.

She realised embarrassingly that she was also panting and as she turned and stood up straight she could see all three of their friends smirking at them.

 

Cyborg coughed nonchalantly and looked down as he lowered his hand, huge grin still apparent.

 

“Sorry, seem to have this nasty tickle in my throat. That's better. We took care of the bad guys by the way. Seems Mumbo and Control Freak teamed up on this one.”

 

“Um, how long have you been there?” Beastboy asked his best friend, shoulders hunching in embarrassment.

 

“Long enough to know you too would have suffocated if I hadn't let you know we were here. You didn't seem to be coming up for air any time soon.”

 

Raven was mortified. She wasn't sure she could take this kind of teasing. Her face was aflame and she couldn't seem to make her hands work properly to pull her hood up to hide from them. Where had her ability to sense people gone? She was sick of these newer emotions messing with her powers. Not to mention she was pretty sure she was having palpitations about now and why the _**HELL**_ would Starfire not stop smiling at her?

 

The boys seemed more concerned with attempting not to snigger directly at their other team-mate whose face had gone a strange shade of brown due to his blush reacting with his odd skin colour.

 

“H-how did you find us?” he asked them, his eyes skirting briefly towards Raven before embarrassedly moving away again.

 

“The windows have all blown out, it seemed like a pretty clear indication that you were in the warehouse,” Robin explained.

 

“It's a big warehouse,” Raven added, her voice cracking half-way through the sentence in a very undignified way.

 

“Raven,” Starfire started, grabbing the empath's attention “please do the looking around. There is much damage to the crates surrounding you. The sound of explosions were quite easy to follow.”

 

Looking around, she noted that the alien girl was right. She had practically destroyed everything in a 9 foot radius of where she was standing. One box even seemed to have _melted_. And it was made of wood. The warehouse owner was going to have a lot of insurance paperwork to fill out.

 

“I did _that_?”

 

“Wow, I didn't even notice,” the shape-shifter added, looking like he was considering turning into a rodent and scurrying away in awkwardness.

 

“Yeah, well you were busy,” Cyborg sniggered before completely giving up the charade and bursting into uncontrollable laughter, Robin losing his cool immediately after. The two of them collapsed in a heap at Beastboy's feet, tears in their eyes, whilst he glared at them.

 

As if that wasn't bad enough, Raven immediately found herself in one of Starfire's unbearable hugs. The girl squeezed her tightly, although she appeared to have learned her lesson from last time and upon releasing her friend, first checked to make sure she hadn't hurt her.

 

“I am sorry, Raven, I am simply so happy you have finally done the 'fessing up' to Beastboy!”

 

“Done the...WHAT?”

 

Her eyes widened into saucers. This was not happening. Starfire was not implying that she had known already. Raven was confident in her ability to hide her emotions, she'd been repressing them for so long she had it down to a fine art. How in the **HELL** had she figured it out?

 

Her eyes were wider than they'd ever been as she simply stared at her friend in front of her, mouth agape.

 

“Rae,” her attention immediately snapped to Cyborg who was on his feet once again, “it's been kinda obvious.”

He shrugged and Robin nodded his head in agreement.

 

This...they...WHAT? She closed her eyes and shook her head to clear some of the confusion, pinching the bridge of her nose. She didn't think she was capable of making a coherent sentence right now.

 

“You guys all knew she liked me?! And not one of you said anything?! And how was it so obvious that all of you got it but I was totally clueless?!”

 

Shit. She'd forgotten he was standing there. All the embarrassment and confusion had just taken over.

 

“It should've been obvious to you too grass stain, but you're just so damn oblivious!” Cyborg shouted back at him, “I mean, she spends much more time around you these days,” he started counting on his fingers at this point, “she blows things up for no apparent reason except that you've walked past her. She always stays in her room when we three go into the city but she's the first one in the T-car if she knows you're gonna be there, and she constantly blushes when you talk to her! Come on!”

 

Oh Azar. Had she? She hadn't even realised. Yes, she knew she had blown stuff up a little more often these days, but she'd been claiming it was her horror books setting her off. She thought they'd all bought it. And yes, she'd been a little more social lately but she hadn't even realised herself that she was doing it to some sort of 'is-he-going-to-be-there' schedule.

 

She finally remembered how her hands worked and jerked her hood over her head rather violently as a crate behind her smashed into little pieces.

 

“What? I never noticed any of that!” Beastboy exclaimed, looking directly at her as he did. She stared at her feet. She couldn't make herself keep eye contact with him right now. She was losing too much control as it was.

 

“Not to mention,” Starfire added, her two index fingers pressed together in front of her, “Older Raven did a lot of the flirting with you.”

 

“I'm sorry, **WHAT**?!” Raven simply couldn't believe her ears this time. It was only a short spell since she'd gotten over the thought that there'd been anything going on between her older self and him. And now they were bringing it back into the mess? Was it getting hotter in the warehouse all of a sudden?

 

“Dude, she did not. She had a similar sense of humour, that's all. We got on well and joked a lot.”

 

“Beastboy,” Robin butted in, his mask moving in a way that indicated he was rolling his eyes dramatically, “That _was_ flirting. Especially when she teased you.”

 

“But...I thought she was just making fun of me when she did that.”

 

“She was, but in a playful way. She was trying to get some kind of rapport going I think. She wanted you to flirt back.”

 

“Except you just sulked away every time,” Cyborg interjected, “Idiot.”

 

Raven looked at her friends, eyes wide. She looked at Beastboy, at _Gar_. He seemed to be staring into space, his face screwed up like he was trying to recall something but it was slipping away. Until suddenly his face relaxed and his mouth gaped. His eyes widened but didn't see anything that was happening right now; instead he seemed to be replaying a memory and getting more and more embarrassed by his sudden understanding.

 

“Awwwwwwww maaaaaaaaaan!” he cried out, in a voice so annoying high pitched Raven briefly reconsidered her feelings for him.

 

“I believe the loose change has fallen!” Starfire cried, jumping into the air and remaining there with her hands clasped together in joy, “So friends, you have always been the boy and girl who are friends but are you now to consider each other as boyfriend and girlfriend?” She looked at them expectantly.

 

Beastboy, no- _Gar_ , hunched his shoulders again and furrowed his brow before turning to glance at Raven with a sheepish smile. The most blazingly obvious sunset of colour bled into her pale complexion and she frowned.

 

“I'm not doing this,” she spat out and as she did she saw Beastb- _Gar's_ ears droop dramatically and his face fell as he assumed the worst.

 

“I'm not having that conversation in front of _them_ ,” she told him.

 

She watched as his ears and entire body perked up instantly and his awkwardness faded into an earnest grin. “So...there _**is**_ going to be a conversation?” he asked her.

 

“Of course,” she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “Azar, you really don't take hints well, do you?”

 

“Nope,” he said, shaking his head lightly, “Gotta lead me by the hand with everything.” She swore it shouldn't be physically possible to grin that widely.

 

“Come on then,” she said to him as she opened a portal with a flick of the wrist furthest from him and with her other hand reached out towards him, fingers outstretched.

 

He stared at it and blinked once...twice before -

 

“Oh right! By the hand! I get it,” he giggled nervously and stepped forward to clasp her hand in his. She gave it a quick squeeze and rolled her eyes at him before glancing back at their friends.

 

“We'll meet you back at the tower. When you get back - any laughing, any teasing, any _interruptions_ -” The hand in hers tightened suddenly and the boy beside her squeaked loud enough for everyone to hear, “and I will send you to an abominable Hell Dimension. Got it!?”

 

She didn't wait for a response, instead turning back to her portal and pulling _Gar_ through with her to her bedroom where they would have a preferably short and (unfortunately) a quite possibly awkward conversation. But she was hopeful that it would be followed by something much more pleasant to occupy their lips with. And based on the swell of giddy feelings radiating from him, he was looking forward to it just as much as she was.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I know this is 3 years too late. I'm sorry. I wrote 90% of the chapter and then just couldn't seem to work out how to wrap it up. I kinda gave up on fanfiction after that. Always felt guilty, but not guilty enough to try to finish this.  
> Then I got in to a new fandom and got super obsessed. Obsessed enough that I started writing again. That was what made me feel guilty enough to look at this again. 
> 
> And here we are! 3 years after I began this 3-shot it's finally complete! Hope you enjoyed it!

**Author's Note:**

> There is far too little of this pairing here so I thought I should add to it. Hoped you enjoyed! Comment below to let me know what you think


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